I love that Elton John song. I think that for any elite athlete leaving their prime must be agony. I was a national caliber athlete and when I retired I was depressed about it for years. I just knew I was never going to find anything as thrilling as doing a back 2 1/2 somersault from a 10 meter tower. And I never have. Every time that I see Allen Iverson do a crossover through traffic and then not finish at the basket, I cringe. It's painful. Physical prowess is something you can never get back.

Life is fleeting. Time is the great equalizer. Both cliches. Both true. It's also true that because of these realities of time marching on LeBron James will not always be the King of the NBA. There are some things to look forward to.

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That's so true. We really don't have that much time when you think about it. Eventually people will live well over 100 and will be able to play well into their 60's but thats not us. That's for the future.

Couple of things I can respect AI for. He has been completely honest with what he has wanted to do so far. He made it clear to both the Pistons and the Grizz that he wanted to start and that's the way it is. So why be so surprised when he declined to take a lesser role.

I never liked the role model label either. These guys are no different than the rest of us just because they have an athletic gift. It makes them no smarter or wiser than the rest of us. All most ask when they plop down $50 for a game is that they entertain us for the time that they are on the court and AI has certainly came through on that part of the bargain over the years.

Puleeze det, I've already had like 20 years of therapy. How do you imagine that I'm not like writing fan mail to AI, following his tweets, spending all my disposable income on his jerseys and shoes, buying courtside...it's all that therapy man.

Couple of things I can respect AI for. He has been completely honest with what he has wanted to do so far. He made it clear to both the Pistons and the Grizz that he wanted to start and that's the way it is. So why be so surprised when he declined to take a lesser role.

I never liked the role model label either. These guys are no different than the rest of us just because they have an athletic gift. It makes them no smarter or wiser than the rest of us. All most ask when they plop down $50 for a game is that they entertain us for the time that they are on the court and AI has certainly came through on that part of the bargain over the years.

If AI could be convinced to take a 3rd string role with us and pretty much provide locker room leadership and the occasional role player stint, this could be like having another Chucky Atkins on the team. I'd recommend it.

"Couple of things I can respect AI for. He has been completely honest with what he has wanted to do so far. He made it clear to both the Pistons and the Grizz that he wanted to start and that's the way it is. So why be so surprised when he declined to take a lesser role."

The New York Knicks won’t sign Allen Iverson, believing any short-term gain would hinder their plans to build for the future.

Team president Donnie Walsh said Friday the team won’t make any additions at this time despite its 2-9 record. He added the decision to pass on the former MVP had nothing to do with Iverson’s ability to play or his character in the locker room.

“I’ve always admired him,” Walsh said. “I think he’d be a great addition for a team that’s in a different position than we’re in and I hope he gets picked up.”

“We just didn’t think right now we wanted to have that dominant force on the team right now,” D’Antoni said.

“We’re going to stick with the plan and it just wasn’t the right situation. Allen is a great player, no doubt about it, but that’s not the route we’re going to take right now.”

After the debacle in Detroit and issue in Memphis, he probably won't get signed by anyone until after the break and probably to a team thats' lost a key player and is on the fringes of making the playoffs.

After the debacle in Detroit and issue in Memphis, he probably won't get signed by anyone until after the break and probably to a team thats' lost a key player and is on the fringes of making the playoffs.

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Maybe that would be a better situation than the Knicks would have been. Really I just can't think what would be a good fit. Here's a player who insists on being a starter and everyone already has their starters, young old or in between. You'd have to have someone get injured and you didn't like your backup guard choices. Allen would have to have a come to Jesus moment while he was sitting on no bench at all and realize that he was willing to be a sixth man on a team and then there would have to be a team that didn't already have a sixth man they like better than Allen AND whose coach and management trusted that he really would be okay with being a sixth man instead of agitating for more minutes the second he hit the floor....

"Couple of things I can respect AI for. He has been completely honest with what he has wanted to do so far. He made it clear to both the Pistons and the Grizz that he wanted to start and that's the way it is. So why be so surprised when he declined to take a lesser role."

"Couple of things I can respect AI for. He has been completely honest with what he has wanted to do so far. He made it clear to both the Pistons and the Grizz that he wanted to start and that's the way it is. So why be so surprised when he declined to take a lesser role."

And in the end, it did him in. Iverson never adapted. His game never grew, it hardly changed, and everybody knew. He could still get his — A.I. was still averaging over 26 points and seven assists for the Nuggets two seasons ago — but at what cost? He needed the ball, quite a bit, to get those numbers. It took others out of their games. He %%%%%ed and moaned every time he was asked to leave the game, even though he averaged over 41 minutes per game in his career. He never tried to help, he never tried to lead, he never tried to learn.